Li Keqiang, former Prime Minister of China, has died. The politician died on Friday in Shanghai at the age of 68 from a heart attack.
Li Keqiang resigned as prime minister in March after ten years.
Li Keqiang, the son of a civil servant, was born on July 1, 1955 in Dingyuan, Anhui Province. Like other intellectuals, he had to move to the countryside in 1974, at the end of the Cultural Revolution. One of only three percent of all applicants to survive, he studied law at Peking University and received his PhD in economics. In 1983, Li Keqiang worked in the Communist Youth League under his later sponsor, state and party leader Hu Jintao.
The rise to political leadership started with a false start
But his rise to the top in Beijing started with a false start. Outgoing President Hu Jintao actually wanted to turn his protégé into a ‘strong man’. However, the plan failed due to the “Shanghai faction” around his powerful predecessor Jiang Zemin, who instead appointed Xi Jinping as the new leader. Li Keqiang stayed behind, but at least became prime minister.
Demoted to a ‘lame duck’ by Xi Jinping
His luck continued to fail him as the protection of his patron Hu Jintao waned. Xi Jinping effectively emasculated the government by having party working groups and committees take over government work under his leadership. So Li Keqiang became a “lame duck”. There have been rumors about his health for years. Diplomats reported that long rest breaks always had to be built into the program during his foreign visits.
In 2020, Li Keqiang struggled to combat the downturn caused by the Corona crisis by increasing government spending. “Extraordinary measures for unusual times,” he called it. In addition, the trade war with the US caused problems for the second largest economy. Li Keqiang warned the People’s Congress at the time, saying, “At this time and in the near future, China will face challenges like never before.”
Source: Krone
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